Rhode Island State Rep. Dan Gordon has
been ousted by the state's GOP caucus.

Gordon, who stirred up controversy in
March when he condemned the formation of a gay-straight club at a
local high school, is no longer allowed to attend the gatherings of
fellow House GOP caucus members.

The Rhode Island House Republican
caucus voted last week to expel Gordon, the East
Bay reported.

“While it is of course not only
acceptable but frankly encouraged to debate issues with the caucus,
and I personally would never want the House Republicans to be accused
of 'groupthink' or otherwise to be less than zealous in our
representation of our constituents, many of the comments I have seen
have crossed the line into personal invective and attack,” Newberry
said in a statement.

Gordon dismissed the expulsion: “It's
like being benched on a fantasy football team when I'm not on the
roster.”

In the past, Gordon has criticized
Newberry's support of gay marriage as “not a traditional Republican
position.”

In March, the freshman lawmaker stirred
up controversy when he suggested that the state cut off education aid
to the City of Tiverton because its high school allowed the formation
of a gay-straight alliance for students.

Gordon said he objected to what he
called “sexual meet-up groups” where students get “sexed-up.”
Later he denied allegations that he was anti-gay.

The comments of critics “border on
lunacy, or they have a reading comprehension problem … I am not
anti-gay,” Gordon said. “I think most taxpayers would agree,
especially in my region, that they wouldn't want their tax dollars
used to support a group that is sexually centered.”